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The Civilization of the Middle Ages: A Completely Revised and Expanded Edition of Medieval History Paperback – June 3, 1994
Purchase options and add-ons
- Print length624 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherHarper Perennial
- Publication dateJune 3, 1994
- Dimensions5.31 x 1.41 x 8 inches
- ISBN-100060925531
- ISBN-13978-0060925536
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From the Back Cover
About the Author
Norman F. Cantor was Emeritus Professor of History, Sociology, and Comparative Literature at New York University. His many books include In the Wake of the Plague, Inventing the Middle Ages, and The Civilization of the Middle Ages, the most widely read narrative of the Middle Ages in the English language. He died in 2004.
Product details
- Publisher : Harper Perennial; Reprint edition (June 3, 1994)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 624 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0060925531
- ISBN-13 : 978-0060925536
- Item Weight : 1 pounds
- Dimensions : 5.31 x 1.41 x 8 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #402,023 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #788 in History of Civilization & Culture
- #1,746 in History of Christianity (Books)
- #2,273 in Christian Church History (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
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Customers find the synopsis excellent, the text concise, and clear. They say the insights are relevant to the current situation and offer good reasons and plausible conclusions. Readers also mention the book provides remarkable coverage of the period.
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Customers find the book readable. They appreciate the concise, clear explanations and the compelling storytelling. Readers also say the book is well worth reading and the author is brilliant.
"...Integrity more important than education.Cantor’s text is tasty, sometimes even delicious; some a little dry, some spicy, some sweet, all..." Read more
"Remarkable amount of insight and information about the period for those, such as myself, who know little about it and want to fill in their knowledge..." Read more
"...Both husband and son remark that this work on Manhattan is well worth reading. It is." Read more
"...Very readable and creates an overview of history that forms a foundation for exploring further detail in other references, etc." Read more
Customers find the insights in the book relevant to their current situation. They say the book provides a broad overview and explains why people and events were significant. Readers also appreciate the good reasons and plausible conclusions.
"...Not sure I always agree, but, he offers good reasons and plausible conclusions.Another example . . ...." Read more
"...Much of the insights are relevant to our current situation." Read more
"One of the few reliable, comprehensive, readable and enjoyable single-volume histories of the Middle Ages (Cantor covers 300-1500)...." Read more
"Outstanding book. The author has total command of this period. It is comprehensive but also explains why people and events were significant...." Read more
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This slice highlights Cantor’s focus. He’s presenting ‘intellectual history’ more than political or cultural description, although these included. He continues . . .
“A system of thought is a group of ideas or theories with some integrating principle or basic attitude that can be worked out in every aspect of thought or life to provide a unified, integrated worldview. The modern system that best fits this definition is Marxism, which may explain its wide appeal until recently.’’
Why was Marxism so successful in capturing twentieth century thought?
“Marxism is a subtle, adaptable system with a broad and comprehensive view of history, of society, or of human nature—in fact, of reality. It can absorb new ideas and data and keep going, and adaptability is essential to the success of any intellectual system. Attempts have been made in this century to make Freudianism into such a worldview, but they have not as yet been successful. Liberalism never developed a sufficiently wide and adaptable philosophy. It was effective in politics and in certain ethical problems, but it never really came to terms with industrial civilization and failed to develop an esthetic.’’
Notice in this short paragraph, breaks down Marxism, Freudianism, and Liberalism. Neat!
I enjoy Cantor’s concise, clear explanations. Not sure I always agree, but, he offers good reasons and plausible conclusions.
Another example . . .
“The reigns of crazy emperors and the murders of emperors were not reassuring. Apathy, fear, and disillusionment with public life encouraged the concentration on private life, which is a recurrent pole in human history. At the other extreme are the periods of millennial, apocalyptic fervor, times when people believe they can create a great society and make everyone happy and that they must sacrifice everything to improve society. From the time of the decline of the Athenian polis, around 430 B.C., the political life of the ancient world was corrupt and despotic or violent and unstable, and those who could retreat were glad to do so.’’
Well . . . these two modes of life, private withdrawal and public sacrifice, both with us today. Cantor regularly connects past lessons to present problems.
I include this detailed table of contents, since provides excellent overview.
ONE
The Heritage of the Ancient World
I. POLITICS AND SOCIETY
II. PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION
TWO
The Foundations of the Middle Age
I. FROM JUDAISM TO CHRISTIANITY
II. DECLINE AND FALL
III. THE ROMAN DESTINY
IV. PATRISTIC CULTURE
THREE
The Age of the Barbarian Invasions
I. THE GERMANS
II. THE FIRST CENTURY OF THE INVASIONS
III. THE OSTROGOTHIC AND FRANKISH KINGDOMS
FOUR
Justinian and Mohammed
THE NEMESIS OF BYZANTINE POWER
THE IMPACT OF ISLAM ON EARLY MEDIEVAL EUROPE
FIVE
The Advance of Ecclesiastical Leadership
I THE RISE OF MONASTICISM
II. GREGORY THE GREAT AND THE EARLY MEDIEVAL PAPACY
SIX
The Making of Carolingian Kingship
I ANGLO-IRISH CULTURE AND THE COLONIAL PHENOMENON
II. THE CAROLINGIAN ENIGMA
III. MONARCHY AND PAPACY
SEVEN
Culture and Society in the First Europe
I THE CAROLINGIAN WORLD
II. THE FEUDAL ORGANIZATION OF SOCIETY
EIGHT
Ecclesia and Mundus
I THE NATURE OF THE EARLY MEDIEVAL EQUILIBRIUM
II. THE NORMAN FEUDAL STATE
III. THE OTTONIAN EMPIRE
IV. THE CLUNIAC IDEAL
NINE
Byzantium, Islam, and the West
I THE LIMITATIONS OF BYZANTINE AND ISLAMIC CIVILIZATIONS
II. THE RISE OF EUROPE
TEN
Europe in 1050
ELEVEN
The Gregorian World Revolution
I THE NATURE AND ORIGIN OF THE GREGORIAN REFORM
II. THE DEBATE ON THE ESSENTIALS OF A CHRISTIAN SOCIETY
III. THE GERMAN INVESTITURE CONTROVERSY
TWELVE
The Anglo-Norman Monarchy and the Emergence of the Bureaucratic State
I THE TRIUMPH OF WILLIAM THE BASTARD
II. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE ENGLISH INVESTITURE CONTROVERSY
THIRTEEN
The First Crusade and After
I ORIGINS OF THE CRUSADING IDEAL
II. CRUSADING MEMORIES
FOURTEEN
The Intellectual Expansion of Europe
I THE ACCELERATION OF CULTURAL CHANGE
II. THE LEGAL CONSTITUENTS OF HIGH MEDIEVAL CIVILIZATION
III. A GREAT GENERATION: FIVE LEADERS OF TWELFTH-CENTURY THOUGHT AND FEELING
FIFTEEN
Moslem and Jewish Thought: The Aristotelian Challenge
I THE PROBLEM OF LEARNING
II. REASON AND REVELATION IN MOSLEM AND JEWISH THOUGHT
SIXTEEN
Varieties of Religious Experience
I MONKS AND SOCIETY
II. THE DIMENSIONS OF POPULAR HERESY
SEVENTEEN
The Entrenchment of Secular Leadership
I POWER AND CHARISMA
II. THE CAPETIAN ASCENDANCY
EIGHTEEN The Peace of Innocent III
I THE REAFFIRMATION OF PAPAL LEADERSHIP
II. THE DOMINICAN AND FRANCISCAN IDEALS
NINETEEN
The New Consensus and Its Limitations
I THE CATHEDRAL OF INTELLECT
II. THE MORAL AUTHORITY OF THE STATE
III. THE INTERESTS OF SOCIETY
TWENTY
The Search for Order
I AN OLD LAND
II. THE CRISIS OF THE LATE MIDDLE AGES
III. PAPACY AND CLERGY
IV. THE EUROPEAN STATES
TWENTY-ONE
Late Medieval and Renaissance Culture
I THE HARVEST OF MEDIEVAL THOUGHT
II. THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE
III. MEDIEVALISM AND THE MIDDLE AGES
The Middle Ages on Film
Since ‘science’ now dominates modernity, Cantor’s comments are interesting . . .
“Whatever may be regarded as the proper definition of the nature of science, the work of Robert Grosseteste (1170–1253), bishop of Lincoln and protector of the English Franciscans, and the Oxford friar Roger Bacon (died 1292) may be said to apply. In both cases there was a gain of new knowledge through observation in such fields as optics and astronomy, where little equipment was needed, and some understanding of the value of the inductive, as well as the deductive method. Grosseteste further asserted the need to express natural phenomena in terms of mathematical propositions. The penetration of Arabic mathematics into western Europe was for the first time opening up to European thinkers the mathematical dimension in human thought.’’
Others scholars also credit Grosseteste beginning ‘science’. His student Roger Bacon . . .
“Bacon’s writings are furthermore distinguished by a tone of intellectual aggressiveness and independence that may be associated with the general attitude of the modern scientist. The most important question that rises from the work of these two men is why the first steps to modern science should have come from the Franciscan movement and not from Thomism.’’
Yep, I’ve wondered about that question for years.
“The answer lies partly in the nature of Aristotelianism and partly in the tendencies of the Franciscan intellectual movement. The Aristotelian science was the best yet known in the world, and that is why Thomas thought it was necessary to integrate it with Christian revelation. But since it was based on a system of deductive reasoning from certain premises, it was fundamentally an intellectual cul-de-sac, as Bacon was the first to see clearly. By his integration of Aristotelian science with revelation, Thomas in any case made it into a closed system that could not move in new directions.’’
This commitment to Aristotle hindered the church, not the Bible.
“The Franciscan movement, with its emotional religiosity, might seem an odd starting point for modern science, but it had certain characteristics that proved fruitful in this regard. It was Plato who had claimed that the cosmos operated in terms of ideal mathematically proportioned forms, and the early Platonic cast of the Franciscan philosophy, as expressed in Bonaventura’s work, led Grosseteste to his theory of the quantification of nature. Bacon, writing a little later, was already under the influence of the general Franciscan revolt against Aristotelianism that threatened to break apart the scholastic cathedral of intellect in the late decades of the thirteenth century.’’
The Franciscan’s emotional basis (individual conscience) was much better suited to evaluate evidence, reach new conclusions and find deeper truth. Integrity more important than education.
Cantor’s text is tasty, sometimes even delicious; some a little dry, some spicy, some sweet, all easy to digest. Good for both beginners and experienced readers.
Recommended
Includes —
List of 160 titles for further reading
List of 10 films about Middle Ages.
Detailed index (not linked)
No photographs
No maps
Much of the insights are relevant to our current situation.
I discovered it while searching for the audio readings of Frederick Davidson after being highly entertained by his performances of
P. G. Wodehouse’s novels, “The Girl on the Boat”and “The Inimitable Jeeves.” Both husband and son remark that this work on Manhattan is well worth reading. It is.
I am sure those with a more indepth or specialized knowlege of some of the ideas and themes in this book can critque but I have noticed that several theories are often presented to expalin certian movements or evens of the middle ages.
Depeninding on your reading comfort it can read like a novle or it can be tedious. I have noticed a great deal of high level vocabulary and it may be a roblem if you are not accustomed to it. For those who read scholarly works it should be an enjoyable read.
Because I have read the book twice after many years I can see that after comming back to the book after having had more expreince and lerning I find that the book has a great deal to offer. If you have an interest in history or of the time period this book can explaing an shead light on an ages we consider to be dark.